Airport extreme troubles, sigh...

[slipper]

hey guys, i finally got roadrunner installed in my home. the technician installed it directly to my ibook and after he left i tried hooking up the airport extreme base station myself. my sisters iMac and my iBook both have the AE cards but both computers dont register any base station at all. I tried configuring the base station in the airport setup assistant but no base station registered, internet connect has no signal and no base station registered. any help would be greatly appreciated.

ohh and i did test the internet by connecting my notebook directly to the modem and it worked. i did try unplugging the AEBS for 30 seconds as what the manual suggested. what else should i do?

 

[Gee]

You'll probably need to configure the basestation first using a cable - plug your ibook directly into the ethernet port on the back of the basestation (the one marked <-->) and run the airport setpu thing again. After you've set it all up, you can then go wireless...

 

[slipper]

ok i didnt know i was supposed to do that, so now i set it up on the airport admin utility but still the same problem. im thinking maybe i have a hardware problem because there is absolutely no signal what-so-ever and my iBook is maybe 2 inches away right now.

 

[Roger1]

in the right hand corner of your laptop, you should see the icon for signal strength for your airport. click on it. If you are connected, it will show the name of the basestation. Select it. It should now show a checkmark, and the name will begin to scroll next to the signal bar. Then the signal bar will turn black. I don't know if this is your problem, but I hope it helps.

 

[mkrishnan]

ok i didnt know i was supposed to do that, so now i set it up on the airport admin utility but still the same problem. im thinking maybe i have a hardware problem because there is absolutely no signal what-so-ever and my iBook is maybe 2 inches away right now.

In airport admin utility, when you go to "show all settings," is "Create a Closed Network" checked in the Airport tab? If it is, uncheck it. What this does is it makes the airport invisible to your computers. The only way they can see it is if you choose other from the Airport menu on the menu bar and *type* in the network name. If it is *not* checked, then you should be able to see the network when airport is turned on from the airport menu.

Don't mean to be patronizing or anything, not sure if this is your problem. I thought this meant something totally different until I read the help.

Also, if this doesn't work, try disabling wireless security until you get the AEBS working.

 

[slipper]

thanks for all your help guys.

Roger1 - there is absolutely no signal at all as if the AEBS isnt working yet the center of the 3 leds is on indicating that it is working. and when i plug in the cable modem the right led flashes indicating signal from the modem.

Mrkrishnan - i just checked and no the closed network button isnt clicked. also the only time i can access the AEBS is when i do what Gee suggested by connecting directly to the AEBS to the with a ethernet cable to the <--> looking connector. Otherwise, absolutely no wireless signal.

 

[Gee]

ok i didnt know i was supposed to do that, so now i set it up on the airport admin utility but still the same problem. im thinking maybe i have a hardware problem because there is absolutely no signal what-so-ever and my iBook is maybe 2 inches away right now.

Also not wanting to sound patronising or anything, but do you have an airport card in your ibook?

If you have, make sure it's seated correctly....

 

[slipper]

lol yes i do. before i opened my AEBS yesterday i would frequently visit a few of the free local WIFI hotspots. ohh and also, i did install a AE card on my sisters iMac G4 and no signal there also.

 

[Gee]

lol yes i do. before i opened my AEBS yesterday i would frequently visit a few of the free local WIFI hotspots. ohh and also, i did install a AE card on my sisters iMac G4 and no signal there also.

Ok, I think I had a similar problem, and I kinda followed the instructions here: http://www.frontsideltd.com/ADSL .htm

Don't what happened, but I checked one box somewhere and suddenly it worked...

 

[mkrishnan]

Mrkrishnan - i just checked and no the closed network button isnt clicked. also the only time i can access the AEBS is when i do what Gee suggested by connecting directly to the AEBS to the with a ethernet cable to the <--> looking connector. Otherwise, absolutely no wireless signal.

When you connect it that way, I understand from your prev post that you can *configure* the AEBS, but can you see the external internet? If you can, it still sounds like your problem is either that you have a broken AEBS or that there is some setting somewhere putting a kaibosh on everything.

You should see your AEBS *whether or not* the AEBS is capable of getting you on the internet. That is, even if config prevents it from logging into the DSL modem or whatever, you should get a signal (and then if you try to load a web page, that still won't work, but you will get a signal and the iBook will connect with the AEBS).

The fact that your AE card works suggests that the problem is on the AEBS and not on your PB.

One more suggestion...kinda unsavory...use the defaults icon at the top of airport admin to reset the base station and start over. See if you can see the AEBS immediately after you reset it (unplug from the LAN port), before you change any settings. If you can't, I'd strongly guess the AEBS is defective.

 

[slipper]

im at the genius bar at the apple store and the genius said its defective. thanks for all the help guys

 

[slipper]

dammit. after waiting close to 2 weeks, i finally got the AEBS. but i have e feeling this one is defective also. i got the same symptoms! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! no signal. arg!

 

[enclave]

Stuff

dammit. after waiting close to 2 weeks, i finally got the AEBS. but i have e feeling this one is defective also. i got the same symptoms! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! no signal. arg!

i've never trusted apple branded peripherals... I just buy stuff from trusted manufactuers like netgear and cisco, there stuff always seems to work fine

 

[LeeTom]

Try this:
connect the AEBS to the modem.
Unplug the modem from power.
Unplug the AEBS from power.
-wait 1 minute-
plug in the modem
-wait 30 seconds or so-
plug in the AEBS

Hope that helps!
Lee Tom

 

[slipper]

Netgear rules! nice looking piece of equipment, $50 for the 802.11g router, and good customer service, unlike apple.